Benninghoff began kayaking in the early 1970s, paddling most of the great western rivers. Beginning in the late 1980's also learned to row a raft, and has rowed the Colorado River through Grand Canyon several times. In addition to private river running, she has organized trips for the alumni of Colorado College with commercial companies, primarily on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. After many unsatisfactory attempts to capture the special experience of river running, the poems in "Anticipation: Poems of the River" finally took shape.